1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with a packing machine comprising a continuously moving strip for continuously and cyclically molding, filling, sealing and at least group-wise separating of containers as set out in the preamble portion of the main claim.
2. Description of Prior Art
A packing machine of the afore-mentioned type is known, for example, from DE-A No. 20 52 551 exhibiting the characteristic feature of that the molding tool with the continuously moving strip is engaged over a predetermined distance to be subsequently restored. In such packing machines, a hot-deformable strip is caused, but suitable transport elements, to move throughout the machine, i.e. the containers, by deep-drawing, first are molded from the correspondingly pre-heated strip, loaded with the product, subsequently covered and finally sealed, whereupon the containers, individually or in coherent groups, are severed from the strip. This technique is common practice which, in principle, in unimprovable. The products, such as yoghurt, pudding, cream, juices and the like, as a rule, are to be processed in large quantities and, with respect to the containers, in hughe piece numbers which task can be readily coped with by conventional machines of this type.
However, the afore-described machines are capable only to process respectively one product only both as regards the type of product, the shape of container or the dressing and the respective quantity to be filled into the container. If a different product is to be processed, the packing machine must be correspondingly adapted to the afore-mentioned parameters. It is only then that the machine can be used for a different lot unless separate machines are provided for each individual product. Irrespective of the situation at the end of the product and packing manufacturer, the situation with the product marketing trade, under consideration of a broad range of offered products, as a rule, provides that dealers order product lots composed of different types of products of yoghurt and the like with, optionally, different quantities filled into the individual containers that may be of different sizes and shapes. These requirements placed upon by the trade can be complied with by the packing manufacturer and bottler (such as dairies) only by adequate cold storage facilities permitting ex factory composition and delivery of the called lots of different product components as there is no packing and bottling equipment available permitting immediate manufacture of the customer-specific lot with its individual product components. The whole of the manufacturing and delivery system hitherto employed, admittedly, is readily computerizable, which is practiced in the event of correspondingly large manufacturing and delivery volumes; however, it envolves correspondingly large investment requirements covering cold storage, listing of ordered lots and the like.
Moreover, a cold warehouse must more or less always be filled up with a range of most various product components in order to satisfy customer's requirements placed upon ordered lots of any desired combination. In addition, direct delivery of freshly packed products is precluded because, as previously mentioned, delivery can only be effected ex factory. Altering this system which--although largely rationalized is cost-intensive--substantially fails because the packing machines of the aforementioned type only permit on-stock processing because direct ex machine delivery of a lot will be possible only if the called lot covers a very specific product only.